Accomplished dream
by StarbuckStar
Summary: Face gives Hannibal a late visit. Please R


**Accomplished Dream**

A short Story

Hannibal shifted uncomfortably under the warm covers of his bed. It was late, he knew it but didn't bother to open his eyes and check the time.

The angry sound of falling rain and thunder made the leader uneasy and literally on the edge. The noise was getting louder by the second.

Hannibal, frustrated, pushed the pillow away from his head after it had failed in fulfilling its mission of blocking the sounds away.

He sighed in annoyance; the sound was getting more insistence. Hannibal suddenly realised that the new sound was of quiet knocks on his door. 

He jumped out of the bed as steadily as his tensed state would allow. He grabbed his gun quickly, and not bothering to put a shirt on, he made his way to the door. Peeking from the small hole on the door, the wet form of his lieutenant greeted him. He opened the door immediately.

"Face?"

"Hey Hannibal," Face flashed him one of his ever-famous smiles.

Hannibal only stared at him.

"Uh, will I be coming in?"

Hannibal moved slightly allowing Face to enter his place.

"What's wrong Face?" Hannibal demanded not trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"Nothing is wrong Hannibal," Face said as he slumped into the sofa. He flashed Hannibal yet another smile.

"You're wet."

"Na, I'm fine."

"But my sofa isn't," indicated Hannibal. He put the gun on the small wooden table and sat down facing the younger man.

"Do you know what time it is, kid? Now if you come to my place at this time of night without even calling ,you surely have a good story to tell."

"Um, I was feeling a little bored and decided to give you a visit," Face said smiling sheepishly.

Hannibal sighed,and reminded himself to keep it cool.

"Face, tell me what's wrong."

"I told ya, nothing is wrong. I thought I didn't need a reason to come up here." Face was a little impatient now and shaking slightly.

Hannibal left him for awhile. He returned back shortly and handed Face one of his pajamas and a towel. "Here, put this on. How did you get all this wet? You didn't come here on foot now did you?"

"No, I just decided to walk a little before I come up here," Face paused, "I'm sorry."

"Face, you don't need to apologize. You know you can come here anytime. it's just kind of unusual don't you agree?"

Face nodded and headed for a room to change. He returned few moments later with Hannibal's gray pajama on and a wet-disheveled hair. He slightly smiled at Hannibal and sat back down.

Hannibal decided to try and wait for Face to tell him what's wrong in his own time. He sat there waiting.

Feeling uneasy, Face moved around in his chair and then after minutes of silence he cleared his throat as a sign of him being ready to talk.

"I,..I got this letter today.."

"A letter from who?" Hannibal encouraged.

"A letter from the wife of a," Face swallowed finding it hard to speak, "of an old friend of mine. We were friends since the orphanage. He was my only true friend back then. Charlie. His name is 'was' Charlie," Face said in a voice slightly above a whisper as he stared at his shoes not meeting his friend's eyes.

"Was?"

"Yeah, well his wife told me he passed away shortly after Christmas.  
He was sick. He wrote me a letter before he died, in his last days. He knew he was dying and he remembered."

"I'm sorry." Hannibal was at loss of words.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too."

Hannibal could feel the pain in his lieutenant's voice and felt very hopeless. The two friends sat in complete silence, each trying to figure the right words to say.  
"It's not that I forgot, but it's like I wanted it to end. I wanted my past to end. I didn't want anything to do with it for the rest of my life. But there are lots of memories. We were really close. I can't believe he died. I just can't believe it." Face's eyes filled with tears and then the tears fell down to wash his handsome face without him trying to stop the flow. Then tears turned into sobs, more of a hurt child's sobs than anything else.

Hannibal did not expect the sudden outburst nor did he expect the young lieutenant to ever break down so easily. He felt a sudden rush of hopelessness wash over him. He hurried to Face's side and put his strong arms around the younger man's shoulders, supporting him. Face's sobs did not stop, instead he sought the reassuring strength and support of the man that eventually captured his love and respect. He was a close friend, a wonderful father figure and a great leader.

Hannibal held Face tightly, angry with himself for not being able to offer more.

Face eventually quietened and sheepishly pulled away. "Umm sorry. Don't know what got to me, really."

"It's okay Face. Sometimes it do you good to let it out."

Face nodded and then looked up at Hannibal; his eyes filled with appreciation. "Thanks Hannibal"

"Anytime Face," Hannibal smiled and then his smile turned into a frown when a sneezing fit took over Face. "Well, I definitely don't like the sound of that," Hannibal murmured as he placed a hand over Face's forehead. The kid felt warm but not dangerously warm. Hannibal didn't like taking any chances at that.

"We better get you to bed."

"I'll be fine; really. I'll get going soon anyway."

"Kid,your staying. That's the end of it. Here." Hannibal helped a weak Face up and into the guest bed-room. He made sure there were enough covers and then left the room with "I'll be right back."

Hannibal returned shortly with two hot drinks. He handed one to Face who was propped up in bed. Face accepted the cup with a sneeze that he meant as a thank you.

Hannibal sat on the wooden rocking chair by Face's bed. The chair was given to him by the team's pilot, Murdock and he rarely used it.

The two men started drinking with no further words. 

"It's unfair." Face spoke again with a voice full of bitterness and sadness, "Charlie had a wonderful wife and two great kids. He was a happy family man. His family needed him. I think it would've made more good if it was me instead of him."

Hannibal was shocked. "Face!"

"Don't get me wrong Hannibal. I don't want to die," he reassured his friend, "it's just that he deserves life more than I do. He has a real family that cares allot about him."

"You have people who care allot about you too kid."

Face smiled "I know." 

Hannibal was not satisfied but could think of nothing more to say. He hoped Face understood his unspoken feelings. And Face did. Words were not necessary.

"The envelope's in my jacket, can you get it? I wanna show you something."

"Open it. " Face instructed after Hannibal did what he asked, "Look at the picture. It's him on the left. I didn't know he kept that picture." Face said, his voice slightly quivered.

Hannibal looked at the black and white photo. Two handsome kids, with eyes full with life, excitement and innocence stared back at him. He smiled and returned the picture back into the envelope.

"You can read the letter if you want," Face said after a second of hesitation.

"No kid, that's something between you and Charlie. I understand it's quite personal so let's keep it that way."

Face nodded in appreciation. "There are so many memories," murmured Face,  
"He protected me so many times and took most of my punishments. At night, when everybody was asleep, we get out of bed and crawl into the corner and quietly discuss our plans. We plan our big escape from the orphanage, we plan our future, and we plan our life. It's quite amazing what two kids are capable off in one night, I tell you that." Hannibal smiled.

"I can just close my eyes and see us, just like before, running through that green field and lie down when breathing gets difficult. We lie down smiling, not caring about tomorrow or the rest of today. We just lie there, make fun of life and worry about nothing, at least not during those short moments."

GGGGGGG

Strong knocks on the door startled Hannibal out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and realised that he had fallen asleep in his rocking chair. His muscles hurt like hell. He looked at Face who was  
sleeping peacefully,or as peacefully as cold would allow him, in a pile of Kleenex tissues. He smiled at the sight and headed to answer the door.

BA and Murdock came into the house carrying few grocery bags.  
"Faceman here? we saw his car parking outside." 

"Yeah, he's sleeping," Hannibal answered before he sneezed.

"Now now, Hannibal you should put some shirt on. It's quite cold today."

Hannibal responded with another sneeze.

"What do ya want for breakfast?" questioned the cheerful pilot.

"A good sleep sounds nice," Hannibal said as he made his way to his own room.

GGGGGGGGG

Face woke up at the familiar sound of Murdock and BA arguing over the remote control. He smiled to himself and gingerly sat up on bed. Realizing it was a bad idea, he decided to lie back again.

He snuggled down in bed and as the sound of his two friends fighting continued, his smiled widened. He realised how both he and Charlie were lucky for having their most important dream come true. The dream of finding someone to love and care about them as much as they cared and loved each other. And they both had that dream come true.

GGGGGGGGG


End file.
